Wife's New Hunting Rifle

[alleydude]

We've been looking for a smaller caliber deer hunting rifle for the wife for quite a while. We finally settle on a .243. We wanted a Marlin XS7, but there seems none to be found in this half of the State (of Michigan). So we settled on a Stevens Model 200 in .243. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the Marlin has, but she's excited about it. The gun seems light enough for her to hold up.

We took the Tasco scope off her Marlin 336 and put it on the Stevens. We will be test firing it tomorrow, and will let you know how it (and she) does. Here are some pictures:

   

   

   

[gnepig]

Very nice! So how'd it shoot? Does she like it? Is it brand new?
Maybe my wife would like one of those too...

[alleydude]

(10-05-2009 01:29 AM)gnepig Wrote:  Very nice! So how'd it shoot? Does she like it? Is it brand new?
Maybe my wife would like one of those too...

Well, we went out to shoot, and like an idiot I only brought along one box of ammo. We could have gone through three or four easy.

Never did get it sighted in, but wanted the wife, and even my 14-year-old daughter to get some shots off before the ammo ran out.

This thing is sweet. Makes a big bang, but the kick isn't nearly as bad as the report. It's a little sweetheart. The wife and daughter both took to it right away, and my daughter is even gun-shy.

The bolt action felt pretty smooth and well done. Unlike the Mossberg Remington bolt action we looked at (in .270) that felt really, really cheap and sloppy. The Remington was also VERY heavy, even the youth model compared to the Stevens.

My only complaints:

1) It ain't pretty. The gray stock is perty-darn ugly, in my opinion. This is only my opinion, I buy wood stocks or nothing. Since this is the wifes gun, and money was an issue right now, this is what we came home with.

2) The Stevens Model 200 is a top loading, no magazine, no bells and whistles type of gun. Though I had no issues with loading the gun, the wife had some trouble considering she is left handed, and with the scope on the gun it was difficult for her to load. I had not problem, it's just a pain. And though we haven't had to do it yet, should we need to unload the gun we would have to rack out each round with the bolt. I solve that problem by unloading it thought the barrel.

If you are thinking of getting a .243, I would recommend the Stevens, only after carefully looking at two other rifles in the price range:

1) I like the Marlin XS7 ($329 at Gander Mt.). It's priced just above the Stevens ($299 all over), but offers a removable magazine and scope mounts, comes in black(!!!) and has a great feel to both the rifle and the bolt action.

2) I also liked (the wife did too) the Mossberg 100 ATR ($259-289 locally). This gun had a great feel and bolt action, as well as the removable mag. I don't remember if it came with the scope mounts, but that's what??? $10-12?

We talked to several people that own Stevens .243's before we bought ours, and each one had great things to say about it. The only reason we settle on the Stevens is that there were NO OTHER .243 guns in this area other than some single shots by NEF and others. Blah.

But as I said, the .243 round is sweet. Lots of BANG, not a lot of BUCK (pardon the pun). It doesn't have the kick that the 30-30 has, the 100GR bullets travel at just shy of 3000fps, as opposed to 2200 for the 180GR 30-30. Since I shoot iron sights on the 30-30, I won't need the range that will be lost because of my round selection.

I look for forward to shooting the Stevens more. We will be going out and stocking up on rounds this time. Won't make that mistake again... :D

Hope this helps.

[Delbert]

That's a nice little huntin' rifle Alleydude. Your Wife will love that Stevens. You're right those 243's do "make thunder" without the "shoulder punch". I was looking at Mossberg compared to Stevens at my local Walmart a couple years back and all they had for the Stevens was the package deal which included a Tasco scope. I got the Mossberg in 30-06 and installed a used Nikon Buckmaster scope and still got the gun deal cheaper than what the Stevens package was. Also the Mossberg bolt action was smoother than the Stevens I looked at and the feel wasn't right for me with the Stevens, in that the "pull length" felt too short.
Del

[alleydude]

(10-09-2009 11:45 AM)Delbert Wrote:  That's a nice little huntin' rifle Alleydude. Your Wife will love that Stevens. You're right those 243's do "make thunder" without the "shoulder punch". I was looking at Mossberg compared to Stevens at my local Walmart a couple years back and all they had for the Stevens was the package deal which included a Tasco scope. I got the Mossberg in 30-06 and installed a used Nikon Buckmaster scope and still got the gun deal cheaper than what the Stevens package was. Also the Mossberg bolt action was smoother than the Stevens I looked at and the feel wasn't right for me with the Stevens, in that the "pull length" felt too short.
Del

Maybe it's been done before, but the big magazine publications should do a side-by-side review of the $300 range hunting rifles for a given cal. such as .270 or .243 or .30-06. Not really to find out which is better, but which would be better for smaller or larger shooters, trigger pull, smoothness of bolt action, etc. I wish I had one of each... so I could write such and article.

Yeh, that's it. Honey, I needta by some guns!

[alleydude]

Thought I would post a couple pictures of the wife sighting in her Stevens. After getting it pegged on the 50 yard range, here she is working on the 100 yard range...


   

   

[gnepig]

Looks cool (actualy looks freezing!), good to see other peoples wifes enjoying the sport. Alleybabe, you go girl!
I like you guys local range, it's very nice there.

[alleybabe]

(11-06-2009 10:00 PM)gnepig Wrote:  Looks cool (actualy looks freezing!), good to see other peoples wifes enjoying the sport. Alleybabe, you go girl!
I like you guys local range, it's very nice there.

Thanks for the kind words! It was a bit chilly yesterday at the range. I shot 2 boxes and could have shot more. The .243 is certainly not pretty by any means. She shoots good and the action is smooth. It will do the job just fine.

[CMIKES]

Thats a great rifle. I got my wife a .243 also. It's a Browning A Bolt Hunter. Sweet gun. Has a Nikon Pro Staff scope 3x-9x, 20 in. barrel, 4 round mag. She loves it. She uses it for fall turkey season in PA., and wants to try deer season too. The .243 is a great round for new comers to the sport. Low recoil, but enough power to do the job. I have an old Remington 700 in .243 that I use for fall turkey, great gun, very accurate, but it gets a little heavy after a long day of walking. They make that Browning in a 308, and I'm thinking of getting one for deer season.